Suspected mastermind of Moscow subway attacks killed

(CNN) -- A leader of an Islamist terror network, who was suspected of masterminding the March subway attacks in Moscow, was killed over the weekend, state-owned media said.

Magomedali Vagabov was killed Saturday, along with four other insurgents, during a special antiterrorist operation in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee told Itar-tass.

Officials said Vagabov worked closely with militant leader Doku Umarov. The two are accused of jointly recruiting juveniles for training in terrorist camps and planned terror attacks using female suicide bombers, said the RIA Novosti news agency.

Two female suicide bombers detonated their explosives about 40 minutes apart on the morning of March 29. The blasts ripped through the Lubyanka and Park Kultury subway stations in central Moscow, killing 40 people and wounding more than 80.

An estimated 500,000 people were riding trains in the capital at the time of the attacks.